Trump camp mocks Harris for bringing Walz to first interview

Former President Trump’s campaign is mocking Vice President Harris for bringing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) to her first interview since launching her bid for the White House.

“Last night, CNN announced that Kamala has mustered up the courage to sit for a *joint* interview — after 39 days of hiding out from reporters,” the Trump War Room account wrote on the social platform X.

The campaign account’s post echoed frequent criticism from Trump and his allies about how Harris has not sat for a full interview with a media outlet since President Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed her.

It also bashed Harris and Walz for doing a joint interview with CNN, which the network announced will air Thursday at 9 p.m.

“It’s no coincidence that Kamala’s first interview is scheduled for the Thursday night before Labor Day weekend. They already hope it gets lost — and it hasn’t even aired yet. Kamala is clearly scared to do an interview on her own and it’s pre-taped so they can clean it up,” the Trump War Room wrote on X.

Trump’s first interview after the Republican National Convention was a joint interview alongside his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), with Fox News’s Jesse Watters.

Harris vowed earlier this month to sit down for a full interview by the end of August. The interview with CNN’s Dana Bash comes about a week after Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president, and a little more than a week before Harris is slated to debate with Trump on Sept. 10. The former president confirmed Tuesday he will appear at the debate after previously casting doubt on the prospect.

When reached for comment on the post, the Harris campaign told The Hill that it was traditional for candidates to sit for a joint interview. 

“For at least 20 years, every ticket, Republican and Democrat, sat for a joint interview. The only exception was when Donald Trump walked out of his joint interview four years ago with 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl because he couldn’t handle her holding him accountable on his extreme, unpopular record,” Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement, referencing Trump’s 2020 interview with Lesley Stahl and Vice President Mike Pence where he walked out.

This story was updated at 4:34 p.m.